What if Root path led to Shaw ?
by EliaAlice
Summary: Alternative end for "Root Path" (3x17), at least in the 1st chapter. Other than that, it is Shoot, all the way. You know, with flirting. And kisses. And if you want to understand how all this goes together... I guess you'll have to read ;)
1. Chapter 1

Note : This is an alternative end for "Root Path" (3x17) that will continue in 100% Shoot. Just because it popped into my mind last night after re-watching the episode. Oh BTW, this is my first fic ever and English is not my native language, so be nice :) I originally wanted to write a one-shot but then I had ideas to make it longer, so it will end up in a multi-chapter fic. I don't know how many - I will write until I'm satisfied with the end.  
Just so you understand where we begin : It's just before Root goes to save Cyrus, but for the sake of it let's say Shaw has got rid of Vigilance earlier than in the real episode and Root is not going to get shot in the shoulder… But elsewhere. That's what the whole fic revolves around, you'll see :) I'm firmly a Shoot shipper. So the goal of this is, well, just to write these two together. Don't search an elaborate plot here, that's not the point ^^  
I always appreciate critics, as long as they're constructive :D

* * *

Root had left for a little while when a noise caught Harold's attention. He turned around, just to see Shaw come in a few seconds later.

"What happened to you guys ? You missed all the fun."

"Miss Shaw ! Glad to see you're fine. But I'm afraid you're going to be needed elsewhere."

"Oh. I guess you didn't miss all the fun after all. Where am I going ?"

"To save Cyrus Wells. Long story, but I think Mr Reese and Detective Fusco could use a hand."

* * *

"Oh no, no, no ! This is not the plan ! This can't be the plan !"

The sound of gunshots filled the room, causing Cyrus to panic.

"Oh god !" he screamed, before taking refuge behind a chain link fence.

"What did you say to him ?" Fusco incredulously asked John, who didn't bother to answer. They were forced to take cover and they energy was soon focused on shooting the guys working for Decima.

* * *

Root made her way into the building, shooting everyone with her two handguns, Decima's countermeasures now inefficient. When she reached the retinal scanner that opened onto the room containing the chip, she heard gunshots on her left.

* * *

Shaw entered the building and saw the people down on the ground, wounded or dead. A spark lit in her eyes as she walked past them, appreciative of having her way cleared. That would save her some time for the real action.

"Let's hope I'm at least not late to the party over here", she whispered as she climbed the stairs, gun out and ready to shoot.

* * *

"Let's go", John finally said to Fusco. "I'm gonna try to get to Cyrus. Be ready to cover me."

"He'll just run away again", noted Root behind them. "He doesn't like guns."

She handed her two guns to Fusco, who looked sceptically at her but took them anyway.

"You think the machine's gonna help you dodge bullets ?" John asked.

"No" she simply answered, before walking to Cyrus. "It's okay, I'm coming to you."

One of Decima's men emerged from behind something that looked like servers at the other side of the room. Taking John and Fusco by surprise, he managed to shoot Root, who collapsed on the ground without a sound, hitting the desk next to her during her fall.

John moved forward to have a better aim but he was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot behind him. The man that just wounded the hacker fell and stopped moving, dead within a few seconds.

"Nice to see you, Shaw."

She didn't bother to answer and kept on shooting, following Root's way a few moments earlier. Cyrus was curling up a bit more with each step she took. When she reached the hacker, Shaw knelt and rapidly assessed the situation, leaving it to the boys to finish clearing the room.

Root was hit in the abdomen and there was no way to tell if anything vital was touched or not. She was losing a lot of blood and her eyes were closed. She had probably passed out either from shock or from the impact with the desk her upper back had impacted when she had fallen.

"Dammit !" Shaw cursed. Right now she was clearly regretting not having any medical equipment on her.

Hadn't she been that worried, she would have smiled at the turnaround. A year ago, Root was willing to torture her and she was willing to kill the hacker. Besides, she had taken a shot at her not long afterwards. And now here she was, wanting to patch her up and, well, not worried, she was never worried, but at least not indifferent to the fact that Root could die.

Fully aware of the insecurity of their situation, and in spite of knowing that she shouldn't move Root in her state, Shaw dragged the other woman behind the desk, so that the men shooting at them couldn't reach them anymore. Then she bent over the hacker to take a better look at her injury. Definitely not looking good. She was removing her jacket to compress the wound when Root opened her eyes. Wanting to take a deep breath, she ended up half-coughing, half-crying in pain. Dizzy, the hacker tried to sit up, not really knowing what was happening.

"Bad idea." Shaw tried to push her gently back down. "You lost enough blood, don't make it worse than it already is. No way I'm letting you die under my watch. So stay -"

She was interrupted by something she wasn't expecting. At all.

Root kissed her. And Shaw froze.

It was short, but intense and soft at the same time. When it came to an end, the hacker didn't look hurt by the fact that the other woman didn't kiss her back, simply pleased that she didn't push her away.

"Sorry, 'bout that. I just didn't want to die without knowing how that felt", she said with a fond smile.

And just like that, she passed out again.

It took a few more seconds for Shaw to be able to move or think rationally again. This scene reminded her too much of the death of her old partner, Cole, for her to act as if nothing happened. Soon though, her reflexes took over and she began to compress Root's wound, just as she had intended before the other woman… She'd think about that later.

John's voice behind her made the ex-agent jump. She had totally lost focus on what was happening in the room and didn't realize it was now filled with silence.

"How bad is it ?" John asked, too concerned to make a remark about Shaw's reaction.

"I don't know if anything vital is touched, but anyway, bad. She lost a lot of blood."

"Then let's get her somewhere you can patch her up."

* * *

Root was now lying on a hospital bed in a room of the library that Shaw wasn't even aware existed.

"I had it built after Mr Reese's escape from the hospital a few month earlier", Finch had just said before going back into the main room, to explain to Cyrus what his new life was going to look like. The latter had been brought back by Fusco while John ran all the stoplights on their way to get Root to the library as quickly as possible.

Now the ex-wannabe-surgeon part of Shaw was using all the equipment – and there was a lot – in this room to save the hacker. Gladly, the bullet hadn't touched any vital organ. I would take time for Root to recover because of the blood loss, but they had managed to bring her back fast enough for it not to be life-threatening. She was lucky though. If something vital _had_ been touched, Shaw wasn't so sure the other woman would have been alive at the end of the operation.

She turned the hacker on her side to take a look at the bruising on her back, where she had hit the desk when she fell. It would probably be painful for a while but didn't need to be patched up, so Shaw lay Root on her back again, verified her vitals one last time, and went back to the main room.

* * *

"How is miss Groves ?" Harold asked immediately as she entered the room.

"She'll be fine. Where's everyone ?" Shaw asked, kneeling so she could scratch Bear behind the ears.

"Well, Detective Fusco is driving Mr Wells to the airport and Mr Reese is trying to track Decima, even though I'm quite doubtful he will find anything useful. We lost the chip."

Shaw got up.

"The what ?"

"Oh, sorry. You weren't there when we understood Decima's plan. They wanted, and succeeded, to steal a superconducting processor three times faster than anything previously available."

"Sorry I asked", she rolled her eyes. She realized they lost this round to Decima and it annoyed her, but she didn't understand a damn word of what Finch had just said. "Anything to eat here ?"

"I'm afraid not. You can go buy something, I'll watch over miss Groves."

"No offence, Finch, but you're not a doctor. No way I'm leaving anytime soon. Not until she's at least awake."

He sighed. "Fine, I'll get you something."

"Better be a steak", she just added before going back to what she had already named the hospital room.

* * *

Note : That was my original idea, because I can DEFINITELY see Root kiss Shaw if she thinks she's going to die. Just because, well, let's be honest, she's soooo into Shaw.  
I tried to capture the characters the best I could. It will probably be harder in the next chapters because their drift away from the real storyline but anyway, stay tuned, I'll update as soon as I write some more :)


	2. Chapter 2

Note : I'm not totally satisfied with this chapter and I'm not sure I captured Shaw well, but I really wanted to try and make an insight of her point of view. As for the second part... Let's say this chapter isn't really the most useful one but I felt like it was kind of necessary for what's next ^^  
Remember this is supposed to take place right after 3x17 (Root Path), so Shaw is still mistrustful of Root. After seeing A House Divided (3x22), I'd say this has changed a little, don't you think ? ;) (No, I still haven't got over all the Shoot we got in this episode :D) Well anyway, I'll try to make her evolve a little in this fic !  
Oh, and the rating may change in one or two chapters. There won't be anything too explicit but there's one long scene for which I don't really know if a T rating would be enough. I say one or two chapters because I still haven't written what happens between where this one ends and the scene I'm talking about, so I don't know how long it will be !

* * *

Shaw stayed by Root's side the two following days, never leaving the library. Harold tried to talk her into getting some fresh air once, without much success. The only answer he got was "no way", and he now knew the ex-agent too well to ask a second time. Reese was handling the numbers, so he and Shaw didn't cross paths very much. The latter only allowed herself some short naps, never more than a few hours.

One night, rather bored, she explored the whole library, but didn't discover another rooms as unexpected as the one Root was currently occupying. Other than this and her checks on the hacker's vitals, Shaw had quite some time to think, and it occurred to her how ironical the situation might seem. A year ago she could have been the one to put Root in that hospital bed but now she was stuck here, checking on her after saving her life and, well, not hating her anymore.

So much had happened in a year, she realized. The hacker had saved her life once, and had proved to be quite a valuable asset. Over the time, she had even shown she was evolving, being… Being a little more human and just a little less crazy. The relationship she had been developing with the Machine had really made her better. And that was definitely the reason why Shaw was now stuck next to Root's bed to watch over her while she was unconscious, and not to strangle her.

Her mind slipped back to the events that lead to this point. She still couldn't believe the hacker _actually_ put her life in danger to save someone. This move, more than any help Root had provided to the team a few months back, had made her grow on Shaw. No, the hacker was definitely not as inhumane as she was a year before.

But she still had kissed the ex-agent. Okay, Shaw thought, correcting what she stated just a while before, she was not as inhumane, but still as much crazy because _that_ wasn't exactly a smart move.

She shook her head. She had more or less got used to Root's unnerving habit of flirting with her and the urge to slap her in the face every time that damn smirk appeared on it was not _that_ pressing anymore. But there wasn't a trace of that expression on the hacker's face before she passed out ; on the contrary, her smile seemed genuine. And that slightly disturbed Shaw, because she didn't know what the hell this was supposed to mean about Root's new stage of craziness.

She finally decided that trying to understand the hacker's tortuous mind was only going to give her a headache and, as far as she was concerned, she closed the matter a little while later on a rather simple conclusion : Root was still nuts.

Nonetheless, a part of her mind she wasn't willing to listen to couldn't help but note it was also what made her stay a mystery to Shaw. And Shaw quite liked mysteries, because that usually went hand in hand with interesting.

* * *

On the third day after she was shot, Root still hadn't regained consciousness. It wasn't really worrying given the blood she had lost, but Shaw kept on refusing getting out of the library. Still, she now allowed herself to spend some time in the main room with Harold and Bear, confident she would hear the monitors beep if anything happened and needing to occupy her mind a little.

She was playing with the dog when Finch hurried past her after a lively conversation with John.

"There seems to be a slight problem with the number and my hacking skills would apparently be well appreciated by Mr Reese. I'll be back soon."

"Okay Finch, no problem."

A little while later, she got up and went back to the hospital room, leaving Bear play with one of his squeaky toys. Since the previous night, Root's temperature had been rising and Shaw suspected she caught a virus that took advantage of her weakened immune system. Other than that, the woman looked fine. Had she been a little less whitish, she could have seemed asleep. Shaw sat in the chair next to the bed and started waiting again for her to wake up.

She had no idea how much time had passed while she was lost in her thoughts when Bear sat at the doorstep and whined. The dog wasn't allowed into the room, and it was rare he even came next to it.

"What's the matter ?" she asked, not at all concerned by the fact Bear couldn't answer.

The dog whined again, and since the ex-agent wasn't moving, he finally barked twice. A spark of understanding lit up in Shaw's mind.

"Do you need to go for a walk ?"

Bear got up and turned to the main entry but didn't move toward it, waiting for her to follow.

"Oh you gotta be kidding me !" she growled. "Sorry", she added to Root, "you'll have to stay on you own for a few minutes, even if I really don't like it."

Shaw realized how crazy she sounded, talking to an unconscious woman, but anyway, it wasn't as if she cared. Taking Bear's leash with her, she hurried up and went to walk the dog.

* * *

The first thing Shaw heard when she got back something like ten minutes later was a loud beeping sound. Recognizing it immediately, she rushed to the hospital room, cursing Bear who made her leave the hacker alone.

"What the hell ?" was the only thing that escaped her mouth when she got there.

The monitors weren't beeping because Root's pulse had faded, like she initially thought, but because the hospital bed was now empty. Spinning around, Shaw began to search for her in the library. In her state, she couldn't have gone very far.

She almost missed her in the dim light of the Faraday cage. The hacker was curled up on the padded bench, staring into space with her teeth shattering.

"Okay Root. That was a really bad idea. What were you thinking exactly ?!" Shaw spat, a bit of anger piercing in her voice.

"I missed Her so much when I was there", the hacker whispered, so low the other woman almost didn't hear what she said. It was obvious Root hadn't even realized someone else was now in the room with her.

Shaw moved closer to the hacker and crouched down to be at her level, trying to meet her gaze without much success. She surprised herself with how gently she put Root's hair back so she could lay her hand on the taller woman's forehead.

"You fever really hasn't improved", she noted.

Root was still staring blankly, her body shivering, obviously frozen.

"Where are You ?" she let out in another whisper that convinced Shaw the woman was totally delirious, something not so surprising given her medical state.

"Okay that's it. Let's get you back to where you belong for now."

The smaller woman got up and tried to put the hacker back on her feet. Root struggled for a few seconds, trying to fight off the grip Shaw had on her body.

"Hey, that's not to be discussed !" the latter finally grumbled with a peremptory tone.

A spark of consciousness lit in the hacker's eyes.

"Shaw ?" she just asked with a half-surprised, half-relieved tone.

As if the rest of her little strength had suddenly faded, she stopped struggling and let herself go into Shaw's grip. The latter just had enough time to hold her back before she fell. Root was still conscious but it was clear she would never be able to walk to the hospital room.

Shaw raised her eyes to heaven and sighed.

"You are so gonna pay for this later", she said while she lifted the hacker, then carrying her back in her arms. "Moreover, you're not exactly featherweight", she added, needing her full strength to hold Root.

The latter had snuggled her head up against the ex-agent's shoulder and mumbled an answer the smaller woman didn't understand. Not like she cared anyway.

Once they were back in the hospital room, Shaw freed herself from the hacker's weight.

"You try to move from that bed once again and I tie you to it. Tight", she warned.

Root opened her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.

"With handcuffs ?"

Shaw didn't even find something to answer. Feverish, half-unconscious, delirious, probably in pain, but _still_ flirting. UNBELIEVABLE. She shook her head. That woman was totally nuts.

She started putting back Root's drip and realized the latter had passed out again. She wasn't going to complain. When the hacker was unconscious, she at least couldn't do something stupid. Or drive her crazy.

Opening the closets of the room one by one, she finally found some covers for Root who still looked freezing cold. Once again, she surprised herself with her gentleness when she put them over the hacker, and fleetingly wondered how the hell that unbearable woman could make her so caring when it wasn't even like her in the first place.


	3. Chapter 3

Note : Sorry for not updating earlier but Internet had crashed at my place ! As an apology this chapter is a bit longer than the others, and I really had a lot of fun writing it... Hope you'll enjoy it too and that I'm still in character enough.  
Oh, and I really don't have any medical knowledge, so Root's healing may not be realistic. If so, I'm sorry, but that's not really the main point here. Let's rather enjoy Root and Shaw's interactions ;)

* * *

Root stayed in and out of it for the next two days, still struggling with fever, and knocked out by the painkillers Shaw was now giving her since she periodically regained consciousness. The hacker was never fully awaken though, but was no longer delirious either. The good thing about her current situation was that her wound was healing nicely while she slept. Fortunately, she hadn't reopened it during her little trip to the cage.

Finch had wondered what had happened during the time he was helping John - he had noticed Shaw was once again refusing to leave the hospital room for more than a few minutes, but the only thing the ex-agent had been willing to tell him was that Root didn't have her finest idea that day. He thus let go and just came to see how the hacker was doing from time to time. It had now become a habit for him to bring Shaw some food too, since it looked like she was always hungry no matter the time of the day.

The ex-agent was once again checking on Root's wound when the latter stirred slightly and opened her eyes. She looked absent for a few moments but other than that, she had definitely regained some colors and was more aware of her surroundings than during the previous times she had woken up.

"When can I get out of this damn bed ?" the hacker asked when she finally stopped staring into space.

"If you behave, I'll let you walk a little. You need to get some strength back anyway."

Root sounded a bit annoyed at Shaw's answer.

"I meant in a more permanent way. She needs me."

"Well, for a start you don't know what Her plans for you are right now. And if She wants you to be of any help, She'd be wise letting you stay here a little while longer. You're not ready to go back to your missions, whatever those are, just yet."

"Actually, I _do_ know She needs me. And I'm not gonna be of any help here."

Shaw glared at the hacker.

"No you don't. I made sure you don't have an earpiece while you're in that condition. You have crazy enough ideas on your own."

Root chuckled lightly, which only made Shaw raise an eyebrow as she didn't understand which part of what she had just said could made the hacker laugh.

"You didn't see it, didn't you ?"

Since Shaw kept glaring at her and didn't look like she would be answering anytime soon, Root pulled some strands of hair away from her right ear and turned her head to the side. The smaller woman moved closer to take a better look.

"What the hell is that supposed to be exactly ?" she asked, slightly shaking her head in disbelief. Taking a step back, she looked at Root in the eye, waiting for an answer.

"An implant", the hacker shrugged as if this was the most normal thing in the world. "So yes, I know She needs me, and yes, I need to get out of here."

"And that's still not gonna happen", Shaw firmly answered, dropping the Root-is-now-a-crazy-_cyborg_ subject for the moment. "I didn't patch you up so you could get yourself killed over stupidity. Any doubt crosses my mind about you trying to disobey and you really end up tied to the bed."

The ex-agent was obviously dead serious here and the other woman seemed to understand she wouldn't help her cause by protesting. Pouting, she looked away and stubbornly ignored Shaw until she finally went back to sleep again.

* * *

A few hours later, the hacker hadn't woken up and Shaw decided to take a closer look at the stitches behind Root's ear, a bit curious but mostly to see if it was healing nicely. She mentally slapped herself for not checking the other woman's entire body after she got shot, but on the other hand, how could she have known what the hacker had got herself mixed up in ? Yet, on second thought, with Root everything was always possible, she should have known that.

Shaw tried to turn the sleeping woman to the side as gently as possible so she wouldn't wake her up needlessly – moreover, the hacker was less likely to be a pain in her ass when she was _not_ conscious – and wedged her on that position with some pillows. Pulling Root's hair away, she examined the work of the doctor that had stitched it up and had to admit it had been really well done ; there was no reason to be worried about the healing. Her thoughts were cut short by a whisper.

"I love it when you play doctor", Root let out in a flirtatious tone, a small smile obvious in her voice.

Shaw let go the hacker's ear she was still pushing back at that point and went back to her chair, exasperation written all over her face. Root chuckled once lightly and turned around to face the other woman. The shadow of a smile was still playing on her lips, and it didn't improve the way Shaw was glaring at her. Not at all.

"You said I could walk a little", she reminded the ex-agent, raising on one elbow and suddenly becoming serious again.

"I said if you behaved."

Root shrugged slightly.

"Haven't I ? I've been sleeping since you told me that", she answered innocently.

Shaw sighed and raised her eyes to heaven before closing them for a few seconds. There was no point in getting into this kind of conversation with the hacker and she knew it, Root would just end up running on her nerves even more. If this was even possible anyway.

"Okay. I'll help you take a few steps, see if you at least can stand up on your own. Last time I watched you try, you weren't doing so well", Shaw ironically noted.

"Yeah, about that…" Root sat on the edge on the bed and started fidgeting. "I remember being shot but my memories after that are a bit… Puzzled. I know I've been more or less unconscious for five days, She told me that, but She can't tell me what happened during that time. Lack of information. So I was hoping you could help me with that, because… I don't really know which part of what I think I remember is right and which part was rather a dream… Plus there are probably things I don't remember at all… I'm not really at ease with situations like this", she added quietly, her eyes down.

Shaw noted how much the hacker looked lost. She couldn't count on the help of the Machine because the library was not equipped with cameras and couldn't trust her own memories either. For once, the ex-agent could see the other woman for what she really was, even if she was damn good at making people kind of forget this about her. Because at this moment, fidgeting and waiting for Shaw's help because she wasn't sure she could stand on her own, Root wasn't the crazy-and-now-cyborgy-self-confident-to-death-helper-of-the-Machine, no, she was just a _human_. The hacker had been unconscious for the past five days, yet she had never looked more helpless than at this moment, willingly admitting her weaknesses.

Shaw was hit by a thought just as she realized how totally unusual it was for the other woman to let her guard down, and it made her froze. She kind of _got_ the hacker. She could comprehend how misunderstood Root might have felt her entire life, because she had herself always been different from the others too. But while the ex-agent was protected by her personality disorder, the other woman had to build up a mental shield so she wouldn't be hurt. Using her skills, she had re-shaped that shield into a sword and had learnt to use people, always being the one leading the game, but had lost faith in everything and everyone including herself - exception made of computers. Root had made a damn good job at making herself look unbreakable ; but underneath, she was still just human and the Machine was definitely helping her remember that. A human that deserved to be given a second chance by people who would accept her just for who she is, just like Finch and Reese had given Shaw the chance to do what she always wanted to - save lives – without ever trying to change her. Okay, Harold might have been reluctant at first, yet eventually he came around. But had anyone ever given Root that chance, the ex-agent wondered, someone as in a human person, not a Machine, because even an AI was still a computer ?

As the silence went on, the hacker hesitantly moved her head back up and her eyes met Shaw's. The apprehension in Root's look is what broke the ex-agent out of her thoughts after a last mental note : she had been given a second chance in life when she didn't even expected it, and the other woman deserved one too. And since Shaw highly doubted Finch, let alone Reese, would ever see the hacker as something else than a former amoral killer, well _she_ could be the one to try and see Root as the human she still was at the end of the day. Moreover, the ex-agent was probably the only one in the team who could at least partially understand the other woman.

"Long story short ? You passed out, woke up, kissed me, kind of apologized, passed out again, bled out but not too much so I was still able to patch you up once we brought you back here", Shaw started slowly, irony dancing in her voice. She couldn't help herself, smirking at how Root seemed to be shrivelling up with each word and enjoying the fact that she was the one teasing the hacker for once. "Then you stayed unconscious for almost three days, decided to take a trip to the cage during the only ten minutes I couldn't watch you – how you did that in the state you were in I honestly have no idea, and I finally had to carry you back here because you couldn't stand on your own. You're heavy, by the way."

Shaw was trying to sound serious but was only half-successful, an honest smile growing on her face. Root's expression was priceless.

"… Oops ?" the hacker finally let out, an apologetic look on her face, causing Shaw to crack up. Damn, that had felt good. She had finally got to be the one messing with the other's head, and it was way better than what she had envisioned it would be.

She got up from the chair and moved towards Root, unable to wash her huge grin off her face. The hacker looked a bit offended, which clearly didn't help either.

Shaw grabbed the other woman by the waist and waited for her to put her arm around her own shoulders.

"Okay, let's try and see how much strength you have left", the ex-agent said, now serious again.

* * *

Root was definitely feeling better, because she proved to be able to stand up and walk on her own without much trouble. Soon though, she felt dizzy and had to sit back again.

"You lost a lot of blood, you know. You need time to get your full strength back."

"I don't have time. As I told you, She needs me", the hacker answered, a bit impatient, as if she was trying to teach something to a reluctant child.

Although Root's tone was giving Shaw an urge to smash her face, she forced herself to answer calmly.

"And _you_ need rest. You're not out of here until I'm sure you can stay by yourself without any risk."

The hacker tilted her head to the side, smiling fondly.

"Aw, you're so cute."

"I'm protecting an asset. And you're probably the first one ever to tell me I'm cute. Which, by the way, I'm not", Shaw shot back sternly, forcing herself to unclench her jaws, all-too-well knowing that Root was just trying to get under her skin.

"Can I at least have tonight's meal sitting in a chair and not in this frigging bed ?" Root sighed. "I'm not _that_ bad anymore."

"Sure. Harold will be glad to see you're doing better. But try anything and you'll regret it for a very long time", the ex-agent answered with an emphasis on 'very long time'.

"I'm not that stupid", Root said and rolled her eyes.

"You're the one saying it !" Shaw muttered.


	4. Chapter 4

Note : The next chapter will be the last, and I'll change the rating to M. I'll post it in a few days :) In the meantime, here's today's update !

* * *

The following morning, Root woke up alone in the hospital room. Cautiously getting up, she then checked the corridor. Shaw was nowhere to be seen.

"This is my chance", the hacker whispered for herself. She really needed to get out of here to be able to help the Machine again.

She slowly and silently made her way to the main room of the library and discovered Harold was gone. Slightly doubtful as to why she had been left alone in the building, she decided not to dwell on this point. She didn't give a damn about the reason anyway, as long as she could escape.

Root had known for a long time where the keys of the gate were and it took her less than thirty seconds to go grab them and open it. A few steps later, she turned to her left just to discover Shaw, nonchalantly sitting in a chair near to the door of the main entry of the library. An ironical smile appeared on the ex-agent's face when she saw Root, but her eyes betrayed her real state of mind. She was pissed.

The hacker closed her eyes for a split second. She should have known better. This was nothing less than a trap set up for her, and she had just fallen for it.

"Why am I not surprised ?" Shaw asked. She was trying to keep her tone neutral but a hint of disappointment pierced in her voice.

"You set me up", Root just stated as an answer.

"I had a feeling you would try something like that sooner or later, and I preferred it was on my terms. You know, usually I don't doubt your intelligence, but in situations like this one you act like a real idiot. What part of _'you haven't recovered enough to go back out there without getting yourself killed'_ didn't you understand exactly ?"

Since the direct approach had already proven itself inefficient, the hacker tried another tactic. Not that she hoped Shaw would let her go anyway, but maybe, if she pushed enough, she could find a flaw she could use in the ex-agent's excessive vigilance.

"Why do you care so much about what could happen to me anyway ? I'm a big girl. I know the risks. I don't need you to _babysit_ me. Moreover She's already watching over me."

"_She_'s not a human, _She_'s an AI that has the unpleasant habit of thinking you're unbreakable. So let me be blunt, because obviously last time I told you that neither of you understood it : _She_ can go to hell until you can stand up for way more than an hour a day."

Shaw's exasperation was now clear in her voice, and given the way she emphasised on _She_, it was directed towards the Machine as much as towards Root. Both of them seemed to be way too reckless ; moreover, if there was something the ex-agent really hated, it was to have to repeat herself.

"You didn't answer my question," the hacker noted.

Shaw knew all-too-well Root was just trying to push her and decided this game had lasted long enough. Moreover, she wasn't really sure herself what the answer to that question was. Was she just protecting an asset as she had stated the previous day, when they had had a conversation that strangely looked like this one, or was there more to it ? Could it be she was _worried_ about the hacker's well-being ?

The ex-agent snapped back to reality. No. She was not one to be worried. And she would _not_ let Root find out she could push some of her buttons far enough for her to be doubting her own feelings. Lack of feelings. Whatever.

She got up and walked to the hacker.

"I'm not playing your little game. Now you turn around and go back to the hospital room. I'm not putting you back in the cage but try anything else and it will be my pleasure."

Despite her disappointment and her irritation, Root forced herself to smirk. She had a feeling she could sooner or later get something out of Shaw if she kept pushing. Whatever this thing might be.

"I'm sure you'd love to lock me up. And it's not like I would mind being all yours."

The hacker kept looking at Shaw for a split second, silently chuckling once, before turning around and walking back to the hospital room.

* * *

Harold entered the library with Bear less than an hour later and found Shaw sitting in the main room, her feet on the table ; she seemed to be dozing.

"Hello, Finch", she said without opening her eyes, eventually not that asleep.

"You know, there are more comfortable positions to have a nap", he answered, his eyebrows raised.

She shrugged a little but didn't answer.

Harold freed Bear from his leash and the dog rushed to Shaw, who finally opened her eyes and scratched him between the ears. His tongue hanging out and his tail wagging, he was obviously enjoying having someone fuss over him.

"How is miss Groves ?" asked Finch.

"Well enough to try to get out of here. Not well enough for it to happen anytime soon", she stated, putting her feet off the table and turning to face him. Harold's eyebrows raised once more.

"And where is she now ?"

"Locked up in the hospital room", answered Shaw with an emotionless tone.

"I see…" Finch softly commented.

Rising on her feet, the ex-agent patted Bear's head one last time.

"I'm gonna check up on her. See what new stupid idea she invented this time."

Harold watched her walk to the hospital room, a bit confused.

_"I'm not sure I want to know what crazy things happened here this week while I wasn't here"_, he thought before getting to work.

* * *

Root heard Shaw unlock the door but voluntarily kept staring at the ceiling. She had been brooding for the last hour, slightly angry at Shaw. The Machine hadn't spoken to her since the previous day, obviously aware it would be a waste of time since the hacker couldn't help Her in any way, so she was left alone with her thoughts.

Deep down, she knew Shaw was right. She wasn't well enough to do some exploits out here but _damn it_, she could take care of herself. And she trusted the Machine to adapt to her current problem. Even if she didn't fully know what she could do in her physical condition, she could probably be at least of some help. Instead, she was stuck here and had a feeling she was back into another cage. She really didn't like to be trapped and it sure felt like it.

A voice in the back of her head tried to remind her she was here for her own good and locked up because of her stubbornness, but she wasn't really willing to listen to it, too exasperated to accept the fact that she might recover faster if she actually cooperated.

"This door wouldn't be locked if you didn't fight our help that much, you know", Shaw stated from the doorstep, echoing the little voice in the back of Root's mind and snapping the latter back to reality.

The hacker didn't move, acting as if she hadn't heard Shaw. Sighing, the ex-agent moved closer to the bed.

"I need to check on your injuries", she added softly.

"Suit yourself", Root laconically answered.

"Wow. No flirting ?" the ex-agent asked, her eyebrows slightly raised and the shadow of a smile on her lips. "You must be pretty mad. But once again, you're the one to blame for this", she shrugged.

Root turned her head to look her in the eye and Shaw could perfectly read the _'seriously ?'_ the hacker hadn't bother to say on her face.

"Seriously", the ex-agent couldn't help but answer.

Root let out a stiff laugh.

"You're reading my mind now ?"

"I really hope this day never comes", Shaw rolled her eyes. "Now will you please let me check on your injury ?"

"You did say please", the hacker sighed before pulling back the covers.

Shaw's cool hands on Root's skin made her shiver, and she knew it wasn't just from the cold, but she forced herself to stay still.

Despite the hacker's efforts, Shaw was very aware of the reaction her hands were creating. She had always felt Root tensing up while she was checking her injury, but for the first time she also realized that the other woman's breathing had become irregular. Not sure she wanted to know why this had created a strange feeling in her own stomach, Shaw hastened to finish redressing the hacker's wound and left the room without a word, not forgetting to lock after her.

* * *

Shaw had left less than a minute earlier when Root heard a beep in her ear. It made her smile instantly.

"There you are", she whispered, before realizing the Machine had probably no way to listen to her.

"She's right. Stay. Heal", the hacker heard a split second later, a series of words coming from different voices so characteristic of her God.

"Serious- … Fine", she sighed. "I'll try to cooperate a bit more."

The voice in her ear stayed silent.

* * *

Shaw came back during the afternoon and found Root walking around in the room. Given the face she was making, she seemed to be experiencing a bit of pain.

"For how long have you been up ?"

"Some time now", the hacker answered while sitting in the bed, her cheeks red and her breathing ragged.

"Don't push yourself too much", Shaw shook her head.

"I won't. But I want to recover as fast as I can."

"That I can agree with. You're a pain in the ass when you want and I'd like my life back too, you know."

Shaw was waiting for the hacker to make a comment about how she would be more than glad to free her from her presence, but the other woman stayed silent, her eyes down.

Just when the ex-agent was opening her mouth to add something, Root got ahead of her.

"Sorry", she finally said with a small shrug and her voice low.

Root's apologize felt genuine and Shaw had a feeling it wasn't just an answer to her last sentence, but also about her behavior during the last few days.

The hacker finally looked up and saw the frown on the smaller woman's face.

"It seems like She eventually thinks you're right", Root explained.

"Yeah, I was finding hard to believe you had finally come to your senses by yourself", Shaw smirked.

The hacker tilted her head to the side, slightly offended by what the other woman was implying, but deep down she had to admit this was right anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

The door of the hospital room stayed locked for the rest of the day - when Shaw wasn't in it with Root - and during the night. It slightly exasperated the hacker, but she had to admit that if the roles had been inverted, she probably would have done the same and not fully trust her word about the Machine wanting her to stay here.

She worked on her recovery for the next two days, patiently and gradually gaining a bit more of freedom from Shaw. She was now allowed to roam around in the library and could stay up for long periods of time, but was waiting for her _doctor_'s approval to get back to her missions – it had become a habit for her to call the ex-agent her doctor, her tone split between irony and flirtation, and the eye roll she always got as an answer often made her smirk.

For Shaw, these last two days had been quite mentally challenging. She was tired of staying in the library and of Root's constant flirting. The hacker was definitely feeling better and better and unfortunately for the ex-agent, it seemed like the other woman's ability to get on her nerves improved back in parallel with her physical recovery.

All the frustration that had piled up inside Shaw finally came out during the second day's evening. It was late, Harold had left the library not long ago, and Root had been flirting with her non-stop for a few hours. The hacker was well enough to go back out at this point, yet Shaw preferred the other woman took a last good night of sleep in the library, what the latter had agreed with.

The ex-agent had just changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts for what she hoped would be her last night here when she crossed paths with Root in a corridor. The hacker's smirk when she saw her in her outfit for the night let Shaw foresee yet another flirty remark ; it seemed like the taller woman never ran out of those. And it indeed came out.

"If I didn't know you better, I'd say you're teasing me", Root whispered, her eyes openly wandering over the other woman as she brushed past her, much closer than what was required by the wide corridor.

This became the last straw that broke the camel's back. Shaw snapped, grabbing Root's wrist and making her spin on her heels.

"What do you eventually fucking want with me ?" she spat.

They were now facing each other in the corridor. The ex-agent almost had her back to the wall and the hacker took advantage of it, stepping forward to trap the smaller woman against it, their bodies now pressed together. Any pain Root could have felt in her not-so-long-ago-wounded abdomen was apparently either nonexistent or just ignored at that point.

"I have been waiting for you to ask this for so long", the hacker answered with a now full-on flirtatious tone. "Because see, that's simple. I really just want you", she added in a whisper.

The spark that this sentence could have ignited inside Shaw never got to lit up. Right now, the ex-agent was run by tiredness and exasperation, and Root's flirtation just kept adding to it.

"That twisted game you're playing with me ? It's gonna have to end."

The hacker slowly tilted her head to the side, a glint of something that looked like hurt spreading in her eyes.

"Seriously, Shaw ?"

The latter didn't answer and didn't moved an inch either, her eyes locked in Root's and her face still showing the same anger. In a game of cat and mouse, she was definitely not comfortable being the hunted.

Since it became clear Shaw wouldn't be the one to break the silence again, the hacker kept on talking, very aware of how much she was walking a tightrope here ; but she hadn't made her way up until this moment to back away now.

"Why exactly do you have to fight _everything_ that happens in your life, it being good or bad for you ? I mean, you don't ever give people, or situations, or whatever, the benefit of the doubt. I know a lot about you, Shaw, part of it because I've observed you but also because She told me some things. For instance, you fought Harold and the big lug – you even shot him", she noted, slightly smiling, "when they were trying to help you the first time. Why do you always got to assume any change is going to end up being against you ?"

Shaw's jaws clenched even more, something the hacker would yet have considered impossible.

"_Don't you dare_ judge me."

"I'm not. I'm simply making a point."

Root's voice was soft and quiet. The other woman noticed her unnerving flirtatious tone was gone, and she wasn't even being ironical. She was _actually_ _not_ making fun of her or trying to push, Shaw realized. She forced herself to relax her shoulders a bit.

"So… What you're seriously asking me… Is to give _you_ a try ?" the smaller woman asked slowly, an incredulous look on her face.

"What exactly do you have to lose ?"

"What exactly do I have to win ?" Shaw shot back immediately, making Root chuckle lightly.

"Thanks for proving my point."

"It doesn't."

"Actually, I think it does. You're even fighting what you own body tells you right now."

It took this sentence for the ex-agent to become aware of something else than her verbal fight with the hacker. Something else being Root's body pressed against hers.

Seeing Shaw's eyes lose focus for a second, the other woman took a deep breath and allowed herself to play double or quits.

"Tell me you're not attracted to me. And I walk."

Now fully aware of the heat the contact of Root's body was igniting inside her, Shaw couldn't resolve to lie.

"This is a terrible idea", she whispered, her eyes closed and her breathing becoming ragged after a few seconds. In the battle of her mind against her body, the desire that was growing inside her was slowly winning. After all, maybe Root was right. What did she have to lose if she indeed gave the hacker a try ?

The latter wasn't moving, waiting for the smaller woman to make a decision.

Shaw pursed her lips and suddenly opened her eyes, sticking her gaze into Root's. She pushed the hacker back to the opposite wall – if they were going to do this, no way she was the dominated one – and forcefully kissed her. The taller woman put her arms around Shaw's waist, pressing their bodies together again, and answered to her desire immediately. She had been waiting for this for so long. But she made the kiss stay sweet, refusing the harshness the other woman was trying to put into it.

It didn't took long for Shaw to try to back away, but Root's grip around her was powerful and she only managed to move the upper half of her body.

"Don't do this."

"Do what ?"

The hacker looked genuinely puzzled.

"Don't put feelings into this", the other woman answered with a warning tone. "Whatever this is anyway", she added, slightly shaking her head and fleetingly closing her eyes once again.

"Why ? Because you're afraid to realize this could actually make you feel something, no matter how little ?"

This made Shaw think back about how gentle she had been with the hacker all along. Then about the feeling in her stomach when she was redressing Root's wound. Then… She blocked the thoughts off. Right now what she needed was a release for all the frustration that had piled up inside her during the last few days, not some thoughts confirming that, as much as she hated to even envision it, this damn woman could well be right.

"Don't push", Shaw warned once again, her tone a bit less harsh though. What she wanted – needed – right now was for Root to shut up and kiss her, not to try to talk feelings and ruin everything.

"Okay, I won't… At least not tonight", the hacker answered with a huge bright smile.

She didn't let Shaw process what she had just said to avoid another conflict, and leant forward to kiss her again, this time with more intensity.

The smaller woman kissed her back with a few seconds of delay, just to have the last word, even if she had a feeling the conversation was far from over. Root wasn't one to give up, she had proved it quite well.

The hacker moved her hands up and untied Shaw's ponytail, wanting to tangle her fingers in to heat up the kiss ; but quite not pleased by this initiative, the other woman caught Root's arms and pinned them to the wall. At the same time, she pressed her own body even stronger against the hacker's, causing the latter to moan into the kiss. Their tongues met a few seconds later, sending a shiver down both their spines.

They finally broke apart, in need for air. Shaw released the other woman's arms so she could rip her top off. She was now run by desire, and by the way the hacker was panting, she could tell she wasn't the only one in whom heat was growing ever so quickly.

"You know", Root stated with a tone that was way past flirty at this point, "the padded bench actually makes a rather good bed."

Shaw released her pressure on Root's body, muttered something that sounded like "I can't believe I'm actually doing that" in a hushed voice, then turned around and walked towards the Faraday cage without a look back. The hacker followed her, a delighted smile spreading all over her face.

* * *

Finch walked into the library early in the morning. They had received a new number and he had already informed Reese that their night was being cut off.

It had become a habit for him to go check on the hacker every morning, but he had the surprise to find an empty hospital room. Shaw wasn't there either. Frowning, Harold made his way back to the main room and started searching for the women.

At some point, something caught his attention when he looked into the corridor leading to the Faraday cage. Moving closer to it, he realized it was a piece of clothing. Intrigued, Finch took a few steps forward and gazed into the cage. The only source of light was from the main room but despite the lack of clear view, he was able to make out two heads jutting out from some covers hastily spread over the padded bench now converted into a bed.

His eyebrows rose almost up to the sky.

"Oh my !" he whispered in a half-embarrassed, half-shocked voice, before turning around and making his way back to the main room as quickly and as discreetly as he could – without much success regarding the discretion part.

* * *

Shaw had woken up the moment Harold had opened the door. She had tensed up immediately and cursed herself for not thinking last night about the possibility of him coming back early, since it was now way too late to try and make it look like if nothing had happened. She hadn't moved an inch and hadn't made a sound, hoping he would just sit in his chair and give them some time to, at least, get dressed. But when the ex-agent heard Finch come close to the cage, she knew they were going to be found and groaned internally, mortified.

Root hadn't moved an inch either since Shaw had woken up, so the latter was hoping the hacker was still asleep. It would be one humiliation she would at least not undergo.

Unfortunately for her, she felt Root's breath become irregular in her neck when Finch turned around. A few seconds later, she understood why as she heard the hacker giggle uncontrollably, letting out a few sounds she wasn't able to hold back anymore.

"Do you think… He'll ever… Get over it ?" the hacker whispered between two bursts of hushed laughter.

"I'm _so_ gonna kill you for all of this", Shaw said, her voice low and threatening, even if it failed to have any effect at all.

Some time elapsed before Root became able to breathe enough to answer again.

"No you won't… But I you want to torture me, I won't mind", the hacker playfully murmured in Shaw's ear with a bright grin.

"You never stop, do you ?"

Root tightened her grip around the other woman's body, pulling her ever so closer, and softly kissed the back of her neck.

"Actually… No, I don't !" the hacker smiled, once again whispering into Shaw's ear. The latter let a low grunt escape her mouth, a protest that left Root unmoved. If anything, it only made her grin turn even bigger. The hacker loved that game so much that Shaw already knew she would never stop anyway.

That woman was going to be the death of her.

"How the hell did you make me agree to spoon with you again ?"

"I promised to take you with me on some of my errands. You know, shooting bad guys and eating steaks, that kind of stuff… Basically, your definition of _'a lot of fun'_. You seemed to see it like a fair trade at the time."

"And now I think I was only semi-conscious back then to agree to that", Shaw grumbled.

"Well…"

Root's mind seemed to go back in time for a few seconds, delaying her answer.

Even turning her back to the hacker, Shaw knew what expression was spreading on the other woman's face. She could feel her head tilt slightly to the side, so more than likely she was smirking too - probably that cheeky smirk that made the ex-agent want to slap her in the face each and every time she saw it. Root's tone totally confirmed it.

"Since you were barely able to speak coherently again at the time… I don't answer for what your mind looked like."

The growl that escaped the smaller woman's mouth only made the hacker giggle again – if she kept on doing that, Shaw wasn't sure she wouldn't _actually_ slap her in the face. Or more if she felt like it.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to this", Root finally added with a bright smile, whispering playfully to the other woman.

"God, I _certainly_ hope not", Shaw sighed, even if she had a feeling she damn well could… And might even like it at a point.

…

But she didn't want to think about it at the moment.

…

Maybe she would dwell a bit more on that later. Maybe.

…

No, _probably_, corrected a little voice in the back of her mind.

* * *

Note : This is the end folks ! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. (I always appreciate a little review, especially if it's constructive :D)  
This was my first fic ever and I'm kinda sad now that it's over... I don't know if I'm going to write another one. I might, I already have an idea, but it needs to be expanded upon and so if I manage to get it out, it won't be before this summer... When I have a bit more time to write ;)  
Now let's try to survive the break... ^^


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